Details surrounding the initial event remain unclear. However, reports suggest social workers intervened with the family, possibly removing children, one of whom may have been injured. This sparked disturbances in the neighbourhood.

While some social media reports claim those involved in the unrest spoke Romanian, as the one filming the video above, authorities have not confirmed the family’s ethnicity. British press reports have focused on the nature of the incident, describing it as “an incident involving children and social workers.”

The extent of the unrest exceeded what law enforcement expected. Residents reported seeing fires and a police car being overturned. Riot police were deployed to disperse the crowd and restore order.

British authorities, including Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, have condemned the violence. “The scenes witnessed in Harehills last night were appalling,” Cooper stated. “The safety and well-being of children is paramount, and any violence or intimidation is unacceptable.”

Authorities are investigating the cause of the social worker intervention and the condition of the children involved. A spokesperson for Leeds City Council stated, “We are committed to working with the local community and police to understand the events that unfolded last night. The welfare of children is our top priority, and we will ensure a thorough investigation takes place.”

This incident highlights the potential for rising tensions when social services intervene with families. While the exact details of this case remain unknown, it underscores the importance of clear communication and community engagement from social services to build trust and understanding.

The post Unrest in Leeds After Social Workers Remove Children from Romanian Families appeared first on Valahia.News.

Charlie Ottley is not at his first campaign to promote Romania. Established in Romania and famous for documentaries like “Wild Carpathia,” “Flavors of Romania,” and “Wild Danube,” the British director also promoted Brasov on BBC in August 2020.

This time, the promotion campaign aims to increase Romania’s visibility and notoriety as a tourist destination in Europe, focusing on Great Britain. It is thus aimed at increasing the number of tourists, both British and from the whole of Europe, as well as from the countries where the British BBC television channel is broadcast.

Eight presentation clips were made:

• Four 1-minute videos that capture Romania in all its splendour in every season, from the frozen landscapes of winter to the vivid colours of spring,
• Four other videos, 30 seconds each, highlighting four forms of tourism specific to Romania: cultural, ecotourism, city break and nature, with the role of a diverse emphasis on the tourist offer of our countries.

The videos will be broadcast on BBC broadcasts throughout the day for a month, starting on 15 October. Romania will benefit from 80 airings, respectively 30 airings of 1-minute and 50 airings of 30-second spots. Also, the eight materials, as well as the bonus video made by Charlie Ottley, will be used to promote Romania at the international tourism fair WTM London, which will take place between 06-08 November 2023, as well as during other participation in events, exhibitions and marketing actions.

This is another attempt by Romania’s authorities to promote the country as a travel destination after this summer when they clumsily tried to promote Romania in France by placing advertisements on buses in Paris. This time, though, having Charlie Ottley’s experience and creativity by its side, Romania could succeed in creating the necessary awareness and make British tourists consider Romania as their next travel destination.

The project cost EUR 150,000, of which 100,000 is for airing the ads on BBC.

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It is not his first private visit to Romania, though. King Charles III is known for his attachment to Romania, as his first visit to this country happened in 1998. At that time, he started understanding the Romanian culture by visiting the Transylvanian villages.

He is even one of the British figures to militate for Romania to preserve its forests and wildlife. He was even interviewed in a documentary called Wild Carpathia by one of the Romanian people’s friends, famous British producer Charlie Ottley.

The king has ten properties in Romania; among them, the most famous is the one in Viscri, a small village in Transylvania. While not staying there, the houses can be rented by tourists.

The Romanian president received the king in a grand ceremony. After this moment, during which King Charles talked about his bonds and historical connections to Romania and the Romanian Royal Family, he arrived in Valea Zalanului, in Covasna County.

The king plans to stay in Romania for five days. Queen Camilla does not accompany him; apparently, he won’t be able to meet his son, Harry, in London. Harry came back from the States, as he had to testify in a civil trial.

The post King Charles’ Private Visit to Romania appeared first on Valahia.News.

He supported his refusal by saying that it was better and more efficient that way. He was asked why Romania was keeping secret the extent of help offered to Ukraine, and Aurescu replied:

Because this is the policy of my Government. We consider it is more efficient this way. The thing that is really important is for NATO and for NATO allies to be able to help in an efficient manner Ukraine, and we think that this is better for Ukraine.

Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu during Hard Talks on BBC

Even though the Romanian official offered no detail on the support that Romania offers Ukraine, it is clear that the country is helping Ukraine to a large extent. This seems to confirm Russia’s accusation that Romania sends weapons to Ukraine. Romania only admitted that it sends protective equipment to Ukraine, but the officials have never admitted other weaponry or heavy equipment.

Apart from the presumable military, yet undisclosed, let’s not forget Romania is the European humanitarian hub. Also, Romania is the country to allow Ukrainian cereal exports to go through its territory, which stirred turmoils among the Romanian and also Bulgarian farmers who started protests at the Romanian border.

Also, the British host reminded the viewers about the large part of the Romanian population, which opposes the support the country offers Ukraine. But minister Bogdan Aurescu contradicted his host by underlying that his Government was doing the right thing by helping Ukraine, which is the victim of Russian aggression.

The public support in Romania for assisting Ukraine, I think it’s quite large, and I think we are doing the right thing. Russia has violated international law, Russia has violated the territory of Ukraine. Ukraine is the victim of the aggression, we need to support Ukraine, and I think this is clear for the large majority of Romanians, no doubt about that.

Bogdan Aurescu on the assistance Romania offers Ukraine

The talk will be broadcast on BBC on Saturday, April 1. The two also talk about the Bystroye Canal scandal and the criticism Romania brought to the minority law in Ukraine.

The audio recording is already available on the BBC Hard Talks platform for those who want to listen to the show.

The post Romania’s ForMin Bogdan Aurescu at BBC Hard Talks: I Do Not Comment on Military Help Offered to Ukraine appeared first on Valahia.News.

According to the European Commission, Romania is forecast to advance by 2.5% this year in terms of GDP, one of the most significant growths in the European space. The estimation was offered in the Winter 2023 Economic Forecast, where Romania is among the countries to avoid recession this year.

A story from Manchester defines the economic opportunities Romania has to offer. It also shows how the global economy makes it possible for Romania’s opportunities to impact jobs in the UK. The Machester Evening News, the famous Manchester publication, says that in Sale, one of the towns in Greater Manchester, one big company, Verastar, decided to externalize a whole department to Ascensos. Reportedly, 60 employees were told to relocate to Bucharest, Romania, or lose their jobs. As simple as that.

The management announced to their employees by e-mail that they would move to Bucharest, an unlikely scenario, as they admit it or lose their jobs. Reportedly, the salaries at Verastar Sale reached 27,000 British pounds a year, which means EUR 2,530 a month.

We believe that Ascensos will be able to assist us in meeting those economic challenges. Ascensos will therefore announce that one of their measures will be a relocation to Bucharest in Romania which we feel is the right option due to their location having a wider resource pool, solid infrastructure and technology, which will deliver greater efficiency. We do acknowledge that the work is being moved offshore and, therefore will be seeking clarification from you as to whether you wish to transfer. This may seem obvious since colleagues would unlikely wish to transfer overseas, but it is a legal requirement that we ask. Those who do not wish to transfer would, unfortunately, be placed at risk of redundancy by Ascensos.

E-mail to Veristar employees in Sale, Greater Manchester

The lesson here is pure economics: why pay 60 employees in Manchester EUR 2,500 a month, meaning EUR 150,000, when you can drastically reduce costs with salaries and employ only 30 people in Bucharest with EUR 1,000 or even less a month to do the same job? You have a massive cut of EUR 120,000 a month of your expenses while externalizing the work.

Globalization means business, and this means that employees in the UK might lose their jobs to the benefit of Eastern countries, such as Romania. Globalization doesn’t care about families, friends or life stories, it only means business – the higher the cut of the salaries, the higher the profit.

Fortunately for Bucharest, the city has all that matters to welcome businesses from abroad. Apart from the famous internet speed, Bucharest is one of the European cities where they speak English at a conversational or proficient level. Besides, the salaries in Romania are way lower than in Western countries, thus making it a destination for business relocation.

Doing business in Bucharest seems more profitable than ever, and companies have chosen the city for its opportunities. A crisis in the UK means business in Romania, which is the sad reality of the current economic context.

As usual, we recommend our readers, British or from elsewhere, to visit Bucharest. It would be an opportunity to see the city’s potential and the famous Bucharest attractions that make more than 1 million international tourists visit Romania’s capital each year.

The post Crisis in the UK Means Business in Bucharest: A Machester Story appeared first on Valahia.News.

Lukoil, the Russian company, is currently trying to exit the unfriendly markets, and Romania is one of them. The European Union imposed harsh sanctions on Russian products and companies, and Lukoil is one of the targeted businesses in Europe.

If this deal is confirmed, Shell will take over more than 300 gas stations in Romania, currently operated by Lukoil.

Shell is not at its first attempt of this kind in Romania. The 59 Shell gas stations operating in Romania were sold to the Hungarian company MOL in 2005. In 2007, Shell exited the Romanian market when it sold its LPG production unit to Rubis.

This could be the most spectacular move on the Romanian market at the beginning of 2023, all this happening in a very delicate context for the gas stations in the country. The boycott against the Austrian companies hit Lukoil’s competitors, such as OMV or Petrom, and the market could turn highly profitable in 2023 for whichever company takes over Lukoil’s gas station network.

The post Shell Could Return to Romania by Taking Over Lukoil Gas Stations appeared first on Valahia.News.

The news was delivered by Bucharest Mayor on Facebook. He didn’t say which are the other three companies apart from Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants.

The pollution in Bucharest comes from various sources, but the authorities cannot always identify them. The residents think it’s mainly because of the cars. A million of them, to be precise. But specialists showed that the air quality in Bucharest is also negatively influenced by a widely spread practice among the residents in villages around Bucharest. They used to burn rubber tires and cables to extract copper or other metal from the scrapes. These illegal burns are the ones that pollute a lot.

This week Bucharest City Hall signed the 12-month contract to identify the pollutants and the measures to be implemented. The value of the contract is around 350,000 EUR.

According to the City Mayor, Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants implemented the same Air Quality Integrated Plans for London and Dublin.

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The persons to be recruited in the following period will work within Data Analytics, Capital Markets, and Post Trade departments. Along with them, LSEG Romania will have a 500-member team in Bucharest.

We are happy 100 new colleagues will join us within the technology center in Bucharest. We think that the local hub’s impact on the global financial markets is an excellent opportunity for professionals in the tech industry. Along with the accelerated development of our Bucharest Center, we will offer our colleagues significant opportunities for developing their careers and professional growth.

Andreea Stanescu, CEO LSEG Romania

London Stock Exchange Group Romania hires software development engineers, site reliability specialists, DevOps, and QAs.

Do you think you are ready for a new opportunity? You can apply here.

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Now he has initiated one out-of-the-box initiative along with Agent Green, an NGO known for defending Romania’s bears. Together, they are campaigning for the informal introduction of bear rights in Romania and worldwide.

Bear right? Is it something like copyright? Yes, it resembles that up to a certain point.

Please, watch this short video where Charlie invites Ursus, a famous Romanian beer brand, to join the campaign, and you’ll better understand the concept.

Basically, Charlie Ottley and Agent Green kindly ask the companies using bears as their corporative or brand image to pay this bear right. Bears don’t have a voice, so NGOs and famous people try to speak for them. Interesting concept, right?

Here’s another one, targeting Tedi, the very famous brand loved by kids in Romania:

Nice, right? But, of course, Coccolino couldn’t miss the series. Here’s how Charlie invites them to pay for bear-right for using the bear image in their logos and products.

Recently it has been found that bears in Romania are fewer than the estimations. By 25% less than the official figures, as discovered following a two-year-long DNA study conducted by the Conservation Carpathia foundation. Precisely, while the Romanian authorities communicate there are 6,000 bears in Romania, the actual number could be less than 5,000.

One of the co-initiators of this bear-right campaign, Agent Green has been struggling for years to show the abuses committed in a country where the bear population is protected on paper. Still, it diminishes year after year because of the poaching and abusive bear-killing authorizations.

One of the ways they kill bears in Romania is by tagging the targeted bears as “dangerous” and issuing the authorizations to be hunted. The hunters, usually from the Western countries, come to Romania and kill the bears, apparently legally, but they are more like authorized poachers.

In May this year, Agent Green accused Prince Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein of killing the biggest bear in Europe, Bear Arthur. Following the news, thousands of furious Romanians downgraded the ranking of one of the castles the family of the royal hunter has, Riegersburg Castle. In just a few hours, the rating of the castle on Google Maps dropped from 4.6 to 1.7. It required Google to stop the attack by suspending the reviews and erasing the ones related to Bear Arthur.

If you are a brand that uses bears in your logo, your name, your ads, or product design, you owe to give back a little by paying the bear right! Help Romania’s bears by clicking the link below.

Thank you!

The post Famous TV Producer Charlie Ottley Campaigns for Bear Rights in Romania appeared first on Valahia.News.

Emma was born in Canada, to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother. They later on established in the UK, where Emma was raised since she was 2 years old. Thus, she became British and represents the United Kingdom in international competitions.

Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, is known for his opinion against immigration. Actually, this is how his party succeeded in getting the necessary votes for getting the UK out of the EU. The immigrants, in Boris’ opinion, steal the jobs of the British people.

At the same time, Boris is also known for his habit of identifying the bandwagons, meaning the people who are largely followed by the masses. By doing that, as a politician, Boris can hop on the good image created around a certain character. In this case, Emma.

But the British are so fed up with Boris doing that. In fact, when Boris tweeted this…

…the British immediately started replying to Boris of his opinions on immigrants, reminding him about the foreign origins of Emma.

The fact is Boris is a politician who needs this sort of bandwagon to his benefit. Apart from that, immigration is seen as a good phenomenon when the immigrants prove to be exceptional, exactly like Emma, performing in sports, arts, or at work.

Boris’ policy on immigration backfires at him every time when such examples of immigrants succeed in bringing the UK this kind of result. Especially when he is the one who points out these results. And Emma, if she wins the final, will definitely backfire at Boris big time.

The post The Romanian and Chinese Roots of British Tennis Player Emma Raducanu Raise Controversy in the UK appeared first on Valahia.News.